A CHARITY trustee who fell for Nepal as a twenty-something traveller has asked for help to rebuild the country, one year after it was struck by a devastating earthquake. 

On April 25 last year a 7.8 magnitude earthquake ripped through the South Asian country killing 9,000 people.

Thousands more were injured and millions of people found themselves homeless as their houses crumbled to the ground.

Phil Powell is a trustee of Community Action Nepal (Can), which constructs schools and infrastructure in remote mountain communities.

The Rose Hill resident said: “I went to Nepal 35 years ago and undertook some trekking in the Everest region. I realised it was a very special country. Incredibly it took me until last December to return, in my role as a trustee.

"I visited some of the earthquake-affected communities. In one village all the houses had been destroyed and two schools which Can has supported over the years turned to rubble.

"We have been raising funds over the last year to help rebuild that country – about £1m – but the need is extremely great."

The 59-year-old, who organises Can talks in Oxford with his wife Sarah Loving, witnessed destruction in piles of rubble that still litter the landscape.

Founded 20 years ago by British mountaineer Doug Scott CBE, Can is now trying to defy the earthquake's wrath with its Build Back Better scheme, rebuilding projects with earthquake-resistant features.

Mr Powell, who described Nepalese people as "resilient and generous", added: "No building can be earthquake-proof but we are incorporating features into the building with seismic resistance.

"They are pretty stark statistics, the number of people that were injured. When I went to some of those villages you just see mounds of rubble. They have survived a severe Himalayan winter and in June the monsoon season – in the rain people were terribly exposed.

"It was hoped that people would be able to rebuild their homes but they are living mostly in temporary accommodation. They have now got the monsoon to cope with and the impending winter which starts in October." 

He said he was "grateful to people in Oxfordshire" for their fundraising help so far, but said there was a long way to go.

In a bid to remind people of the earthquake, which has since slipped off the news agenda in place of more recent tragedies, he enlisted the help of former BBC world affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge. 

The Headington resident visited Nepal with his wife Ruth and cinematographer Narendra Mainali, after Mrs Wooldridge had a chance encounter with Mr Powell. 

Mr Powell said: "As a result of that chance conversation Mike went out a couple of weeks ago and produced this video to raise awareness."

The 10-minute documentary, called The Day the Mountains Shook, explores the progress that CAN has made in badly-hit areas like the Middle Hills and villages along the Tibetan border.

Mr Powell will host the next Can talk in Oxford alongside its founder on November 22, at Oxford University Museum of Natural History in Parks Road.

Anyone who wants to donate can visit canepal.org.uk.